What Are We Fighting For?
by CausticShadow
Summary: Eggman has hatched a plan to feed energy off of Sonic's, Shadow's, and Silver's super-forms. But can the gang overcome their differences to fight together? Filled with drama, humor, emotion and a little bit of romance to top it all off. Join each character as they struggle to learn what it means to fight together. A little bit of Sonamy, Silvaze, Knuxrouge. Rated T for fighting.
1. Initiate Mission

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to SEGA, I own nothing.**

A blue blur ran through the green hills leaving a mighty gust of wind behind him. His arms stretched out behind his body, they were flowing in the air. It was a new day, a new adventure and he felt like he could do this forever….

"Sonic!"

The green hill zone was not only what knit together the stitches of his childhood, it was his _zone_ \- er - his happy place if you will.

"Sonic!"

Call it a ridiculously conveniently grassy area, but he called it a place just around the corner of Mobius, a place to be stress free. One could even go so far as to say -

"SONIC!"

"Huh?" He skidded to a stop just before crashing into a pink hedgehog that looked like she was about to kill him.

"Oh, hey Amy. What are you doing here?"

"Jeez, can't stop one second to admire a cutie like me? I called you three times!" She waved her hands in the air out of frustration. "Anyways, I had a request to make of you-"

"-Erm Amy, actually, I was just headed to Tails' house. I'd love to chat, but his request sounded extremely urgent. Sorry Amy, but we'll talk later, kay?"

"Wait!", she desperately cried, "I just wanted-"

And with a gust of blue wind, he was off.

"I just wanted you to go to twinkle park with me", she whispered. She sat down in the grass and circled her finger around and around in the soil.

She sniffled quietly, "I-I d-don't think I can take this anymore. I was supposed to be destined to be with him…" She glanced at the floating soil around her face, "but he keeps on leaving me in the dust."

XXX

Sonic arrived at his best friend's house. The blue hedgehog and the yellow fox were inseparable. They rarely seriously quarreled, in fact, they were the epitome of best friends. It was almost as if it was their destiny to help each other.

"Hey bro, whassup?"

Around him, he could hear the low hum of lab equipment and mixtures bubbling in the background.

"Sonic you made it!", Tails exclaimed.

"Heh, 'course I did. And in record time too. Ya know me." He relaxed his eyelids, puffed out his chest, and smirked, "I only happen to be the fastest thing alive."

"And soon you'll the fastest thing dead." An eerie figure emerged from the shadows of Tails' workshop.

Sonic's jaw dropped, "Tails? What's my emo fake doing here. You can't have seriously let Mister Red n' Black stripes in."

Tails shifted his weight nervously, "Uh, actually, that's just what I needed to talk to you about." The yellow fox clearly looked uncomfortable.

Even though the hedgehogs were silent, they were glaring daggers at each other, crimson red against emerald green.

"So anyway," he continued, "Eggman is planning an attack, but it's different from his last one. According to the bugs I placed in the Death Egg during our last battle; I've been able to gather some intel."

He walked over to a floating hologram like screen. Sonic followed him, but the black and red hedgehog stayed defiantly planted where he was.

Tails continued, "You know how you hedgehogs can use chaos energy to attain your superforms and defeat him." Sonic nodded. "Well, it appears that he is planning on inducing a chronic sleep cycle on all of you: Shadow, Sonic and Silver. While in stasis, he can use you guy's reaction with the chaos emerald to release pure energy into his robots and badnicks to fuel his plan for building the Eggman empire" Tails cringed. "And just for the fun of it", the fox glanced over his data, "it looks like he's planning on doing the same to Amy" Tails looked up; he saw some concern in Sonic's eyes that quickly disappeared. "So, I've done some thinking and I think I know how to defeat him."

"Alright buddy. Let do this! We've defeated him before, we can do it again!"

"Erm", Tails interrupted him, "There's just one condition. You guys," he said gesturing to Sonic and Shadow, "me, and everybody else are gonna have to work together. Eggman has become increasingly powerful, and we can't just take him down one on one."

Shadow's eye quickly flicked in dissonance, but one could only tell if they were watching him closely.

The fox continued, looking at Sonic he said, "I wanted you and Shadow to warn the other hedgehogs while I debrief everyone else about the mission."

It was now that Shadow glared at Tails, "I am the Ultimate Lifeform and I only answer to GUN. If anyone is going to save those pathetic humans from the Eggman empire, it won't be me." Tails back away fearfully.

"You called me here for this? For a little group meeting so I could join your little group of dimwits to save the world? Hmph. I owe you nothing. You're on your own."

Sonic laughed, "You're never going to come down from your mighty hill are ya Shadow? Wait, maybe it's 'cuz we're in the Green Hill Zone. Ha get it? Green _Hill_ 'cuz were like in the zone with all the hills and you're really proud and arrogant-"

A dark figure gripped his throat, "Pathetic", he spat.

And with that, the dark hedgehog was gone… gone with the wind.

Tails looked defeated.

"You okay buddy?", Sonic asked as he recovered from Shadow's death lock.

"Y-yeah…" Tails looked stunned.

Sonic smiled warmly, "Hey some things never change. I mean the guy barely talks and when he does it only to diss people. I wouldn't worry about it too much."

"Y-yeah… it's just that we need him on our side to defeat Eggman. We can't do this alone."

Sonic smirked, "But Faker is just gonna slow us down. Well, slow me down anyway."

Tails groaned but smiled a little, "Sonic, be serious for a moment here. Shadow is the most experienced in Chaos Control. Even you don't use it as often." The yellow kid had a point; he looked at Sonic desperately. "Sonic, you have to convince him to work with us and the others, otherwise, our chances are slimmer."

The blue hedgehog looked him in the eye; he hated seeing his friend lose hope. "Don't worry kiddo, I'll beat some sense into him."

Tails looked hopeful again, "And if you do-"

"-When I do", Sonic corrected him.

"You two have to warn Silver and Amy, they're lives are in danger. I'll go find the others."

"Don't worry bro, I'll convince Shadow, until then", he chuckled," Amy and Silver can fend for themselves."

"Alright", Tails muttered obviously deep in thought; Sonic was already halfway out the door. "But remember time is running out."

Sonic stopped and looked his kid brother in the eye, "Don't worry about me", he stated into the sky. "I haven't lost before and I won't lose now. After all, I'm Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog"

And with that, he shut the door; only a gust of wind followed.

 **A/N: Well that was fun! Maybe you'll be back next week? Maybe?**

 **Anywho, why did Shadow really run away so quickly?**

 **Will Amy ever get that date? (prob not)**

 **Will Tails successfully be able to gather the rest of the gang?**

 **Stick around to find out!**

 **Like what you read? Yea? Nay? Please review**


	2. More Than Meets the Eye

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Sega (for now...)**

Swoooosh….

The green tips of the palm branches shook with the wind.

Swishhh….

Even the trees appeared to tremble knowing the blur of black fury was approaching. Gradually, the sky started to become dim as rain clouds approached. The grey was strangling the last rays of sunlight. The palm trees swayed gently in the wind soaking in the water now dripping from the sky.

Swoosh…..swish…swoosh...silence. The rhythm of red and white hover skates came to a stop as a shadow emerged from the rain forest. It was gloomy, eerie, but most of all, dark. It seemed like the sky was in harmony with the black hedgehog's feelings, clouding out any traces of happiness and unleashing the burdens of his heart. Just the way he liked it.

 **xxx**

Sonic rushed through the hills, his surroundings a blur in time. But something felt different. Ever since Tails had briefed him and Shadow on the mission, he couldn't help but feel a little...unusual. Almost like he was being haunted… but by what? Suppose Eggman really did place him and the other hedgehogs into a chronic sleep cycle. Mobius would have no hope, no helper, no savior, no... hero. He was a hero - no - he was _their_ hero. Did...this really haunt him?

Sonic shuddered. Everyone looked up to him including his own friends, but even big blue himself had his moments of doubts, moments when he thought he wouldn't make it. He considered Tails and Amy some of his closest companions. They wanted to be just like him, but what they didn't understand was that Sonic had to build faith in himself before he could believe in what they were fighting for. This was his one attribute that he never brought to light.

Sonic wasn't scared of the fight, he wasn't scared of the potential danger, no, he was scared of letting his best friends down. Under all is thick skin, under all his practical jokes and light-hearted jabs, he cared. No, he _really_ cared. Heroes aren't just born, they are created because of their pure form of love typically heavily disguised in a passion for justice. And because they wanted to protect those they loved most…..their friends...their family…..

Rain clouds were settling in. He couldn't think these thoughts now. Not now when the world needed him.

 _Ugh._

He had to find Shadow fast. Didn't Tails say they were on a time limit or something?

 **xxx**

He was a loner and he knew it. But he liked it. Alone. Alone in the rain where no one would dare come close. Anyone who had the audacity to challenge him had to be a fool. He _was_ the Ultimate Lifeform. He didn't owe this world anything. The only person he owed was Maria…

 _Maria..._

His pulse increased.

 _Maria..._

He closed his eyes.

She had been his lifelong friend. Until they killed her in cold blood, but not before she helped him escape. Shadow vigorously shook his head, the event had happened over fifty year ago, but he remembered them like they were yesterday. He groaned. He hated it when the memories came back to plague him, almost always at the worst times. No one should ever have to see their lifelong friend murdered. And live to tell the tale.

Shadow trekked through the foliage. _Hmph._ A part of him wanted Sonic to suffer. A part of him wanted Sonic to understand what it was like to live to see your friend die.

Under Shadow's thick quills, under his broody demeanor, under his thick fur, his heart was heavy. It weighed him down. It was like gasoline that fueled his disgust for humanity and the other animals. They had each other, and-and… they loved each other. They didn't witness death like he had. Without _her_ he knew no love. He only fought with GUN because he knew _she_ would want it.

The rain came down hard.

 _He didn't want to see anymore die._

To some, the rain would have caused distressed, but Shadow greatly appreciated the droplets' dismal company.

 **xxx**

Blaze and Rouge made it to Tails' workshop just before the rain set in.

"We got your distress signal," Blaze started nervously.

Rogue cut her off, "Look, whatever you called me here for had better be important because a lady's got a life to live Shorty."

A frazzled fox emerged from behind a desk. "Oh, believe me it is." He looked down at a worn folder and frowned, "because it looks like the situation just got exponentially worse."

 **xxx**

Fear. It was only another dimension of worry. Worry fueled by love. And at this particular time, it fueled a certain blue hedgehog toward the rainforest. He had to find Shadow. For his friends, for Mobius, for the world. Sonic was a hero, a hero stimulated by his unconditional love for his friends. If he couldn't save them, what hope did they have?

Sonic jumped to the top of a wet tree. Squinting through the fog, he could make out dark silhouette standing still. _Ah, that's where he went._

"Hey faker! Why the moping face? Don't tell me you got all shaken 'cuz a little fox gave you a scary mission?" Sonic glanced around him, "And whassup with standing out here in the rain...wait a minute." Sonic narrowed his eyes, "You wanted to take a shower didntcha?" He laughed. "Jeez Shads, coming all the way out here for a shower was a little excessive dontcha think?" he taunted.

The black hedgehog opened his eyes and turned his head ever so slightly to face Sonic.

"I mean _come on,_ you're the ultimate lifeform", Sonic smirked, "Unless the mission is something you can't handle."

Shadow snickered, if only the azure hedgehog understood how precious life was, he wouldn't talk so carelessly. "It's was wrong of you to mock me Faker." Standing there in the rain, he looked more intimidating and malicious than ever.

Sonic nodded it off, still smiling like goof in the rain, "Pssh, nothin' I can't handle." Sonic cracked his knuckles, "So are we gonna do this easy or the hard way." If only the ebony hedgehog understood how precious life was, he wouldn't hesitate to help Sonic save the world.

"Hmph. When I'm done you, you'll regret ever coming out here to find me." The ultimate life form dashed into the forest.

"So that's the way you wanna play it", Sonic muttered to himself. He chuckled knowingly, "Trust me, you and I are very much alike at heart, so run while you can Faker, because we can't all run away from our problems forever."

And with that, the hero bolted into the forest after him.

A/N:

That was a quick update. ~I got pretty bored~ (thanks for the comments! I really enjoyed reading them)

There will be tons more action in the next chapter and it will also involve a very heavy exchange of emotion (if you're into that sort of thing).

Reviews are much appreciated.

Come back next week to see how this all goes down!

Well, with that said, peace out.


	3. Old Sayings

**All characters belong to SEGA**

* * *

"Amy?"

"Silver?"

"Uhh...wha-what are you doing here out in this fog?"

"I should ask you the same thing Silver."

"Umm, right." Silver was uneasy, the pink one was simply staring at dust floating around her, "but how long have you been….been observing those, ahem, pieces of dirt?"

"Huh? Oh. Since Sonic rushed off somewhere and left me in the dust." Her eyes looked dreamy. "And all I have are these earthly particles to remember him by…"

Okay. If that wasn't creepy...Well, actually, Silver thought, this means Amy's functioning normally. "Ohhh yeah, I forgot Sonic had a creepy pink stalker who followed him around whether rain or shine, night or day, hot or cold - not to mention the times that you get kidnapped at the worst possible moments and force the rest of us to come up with some quick plan to rescue you just so that you can be held by Sonic and-"

Ooooh, Amy was glaring daggers at him. Mistake. Mistake! She reached behind her back for - oh no!

"You were saying Silver?"

"Oh! Hahaha! Nothing! Nothing at all! Now, would you please put away your - er- hammer, piko thing."

With a sigh Amy complied, "So why are _you_ here?"

Silver hesitated, he really didn't want Amy to know he had decided to go out to walk off his emotions. "Well…" Aha! Idea. "Why don't we go find where Sonic went?"

"Omagosh? Seriously? Eeeek! Yes! Yes! Yes! Pshh, who needs floating dust when we can find the real deal?" She grabbed his hand excitedly and started running. Hoo boy, he was so gonna regret this.

XXX

"Stop hiding from me Shadow!" Sonic decelerated to a quick halt. Where was that -

"Gah!" A black figure rammed Sonic's neck into a tree.

A deep, disturbingly, smooth voice trailed from behind him, "We meet again Faker. It's time to show you the meaning of regret."

A blue hedgehog was turning purple; Sonic gasped for breath, "Sha-shadow…"

Shadow let go and chaos blasted Sonic toward the ground. Sonic's head throbbed and he could taste blood from the corner of his mouth. He groaned, utterly disgusted with the black hedgehog's ruthlessness. The hero thought for a moment; if he was going to catch Shadow by surprise, he was going to have to gain momentum. Momentum: mass multiplied by velocity. Velocity was both speed and direction. Speed: Sonic was the fastest thing alive - check. Direction: Shadow was blocking his path, so if he couldn't go forward….aha! He grinned.

"Face it Shadow," Sonic was running backward toward the edge of the forest.

"I'm faster." He instinctively dodged a tree that snapped in the rain.

"I'm stronger." He slashed through foliage that blocked his way.

"I'm smarter." Yeah baby! He was gaining momentum now.

"And", Sonic didn't break a sweat, "I'm not the result some experimental procedure developed by trial and error in a laboratory, so nature will ALWAYS be on my side." The blue hedgehog swiftly turned around and made a beeline for the ultimate lifeform.

Was Faker taking it too far? Yes, yes he was, thought Shadow.

Thunder now split the sky.

Sonic smirked as he yelled, "As the old saying goes Shads, if you can beat them, join 'em! So why don't you give up now Faker?" He was approaching Shadow with a speed unimaginable to all Mobiankind.

XXX

Silver was far from an ugly hedgehog; with two long silver quills beneath five others arranged in a maple leaf pattern, his fur brilliantly glistened in the sun. He wasn't stupid nor was he gullible (unlike a certain red someone). His eyes shown with the purest hue of gold ever known.

He had helped Sonic and the gang gallantly save the world before (he smiled to himself - those were good times).

Rain started to lightly drip from the sky.

So why did he feel so unreceived by the others? He always felt a little out of place, he certainly didn't look like the others b-but, he wasn't any less intelligent, right? Sure he was from the future - a little out of date - but why didn't he feel like he could ever belong? Was it the way he dressed? Was is the boots he wore? Was it -

"It's because you're naive", a pink hedgehog interrupted his thoughts.

Silver turned to look at her with a startled face.

"What? You don't need to look at me like that, it was written all over you face! You were thinking those thoughts again: 'I don't belong with the gang, I'm so out of place, I'm useless….yatatatata'".

The psychokinetic hedgehog's countenance fell. He looked at Amy, "I-I-well, _ugh_ it's just that sometimes I don't really feel like I bring anything to the table. I feel like I'm not supposed to be here...like ….like I'm a mistake." His eyes were quivering now, "every time you guys get so close to finishing a mission, I feel like I just come in and ruin it at the last moment."

He hung his head, "I feel so...feel so pathetic." A single tear slid down his muzzle, "...it's no use."

Amy stared at him in disbelief, sure she hadn't known Silver very well, but had he been feeling miserable this whole time? "Silver…."

He looked up toward the sky and shook his fist, "IT'S NO USE AMY. Can't you see that? Every time I try to help, I just mess things up. All I've ever wanted to do is fix the future….but I can't even fix myself." The rain was coming down harder now.

XXX

It was now or never. Sonic poured all of his speed into his legs. It was time to teach that black freak a lesson. He was moving so rapidly that the twigs and dirt started to burn beneath him. He sucked in his breath and locked his eyes on Shadow.

XXX

"You guys don't need me. I look like a mutant compared to the rest of the hedgehogs! You don't understand Amy!" The rain beat down now on both heads.

"Silver, don't do this to yourself", her jade eyes were pleading with him through the storm. "Please, you don't know what you're saying."

Silver's eyes were swelling now, "I don't want to do this anymore Amy. I don't wanna fight anymore. I wish you guys would go on without me. I'm useless"

"But you've helped us save the world so many times!"

"After you guys fixed my mistakes! I can't do anything right!" The wind howled in agreement.

"Silver!"

He looked at her desperately, "I used to know why I fought Amy. I wanted to protect my future. But now I know why it was so messed up. For no reason, other than… my existence"

"But Silver-"

"You guys have fixed so many of my wrongdoings", he looked at her contently, "now I want to return the service. I want to fix the source of the problem Amy...me". By now they had reached a cliff that loomed over a flooded rain forest decorating Emerald Coast.

XXX

Shadow focused all of his energy on his heart. _Chaos was the power enriched by the heart._ If Sonic blasted into him, it would do more than just bruise Shadow's ego. He hated to admit it, but Sonic has chosen a good battle strategy, but it was getting tiring. Run fast, hit hard. The blue idiot did the same thing every time.

The fool was approaching dangerously fast, he had to move.

"You claim that you are faster, stronger, and smarter blue faker. While I have my doubts, one thing is for sure, you're more conceited. As for old sayings", he snickered, "I'll have you know pride goes before a fall. CHAOS…..CONTROL!"

XXX

"Silver!" Amy was crying at this point, "you don't have to do this. Take it back, please! You wanna know about pathetic? All I ever do is swing around my pink hammer and get kidnapped!"

"Yeah, but Sonic saves you!"

"I know Silver", Amy was sobbing, "but doesn't even love me."

Silver was backing toward the edge of the cliff.

"Think of Blaze!", Amy wailed, "what will she do without you Silver? Huh?"

Silver breathed in calmly, "She'd thank me, Amy. She'd thank me."

XXX

Sonic ran into….an empty space? How many times was he going to fall for that! Ugh, stupid teleporting hedgehogs, why did such a thing even exist.

Oh dear. The ground was getting slippery and Sonic had gained too much momentum - he couldn't stop! Rats, that stinking sly faker had totally planned this.

But, but - oh NO! He was headed straight toward the ocean! Toward the water! The water!

XXX

Silver lifted a foot off the edge of the cliff, "Thanks for everything Amy."

"No, please don't do this Silver! I never even got to know you!"

"It's was nice knowing you while I did, but now everyone will be at ease." He wiped away her tears and quietly whispered, "it's no use,"

Then he jumped.

XXX

A floating figure far away over the horizon chuckled to himself, "Egg-cellent! Phase one complete. As the old saying goes, "A house divided cannot stand."

* * *

Yikes. Not looking to hot for our favorite heroes? What are your thoughts?


	4. Out of the Ashes

Chapter 4

"Orbot! Stop wasting space and make yourself useful! Gimme that wrench now! I've got to quickly put phase two into place if I'm going to finally defeat that rodent brat and his disgusting critter friends. Finally, not only is world domination on the tip of my tongue, but it is about to be placed into the very deserving palm of my hand." The villain thoughtfully stroked his mustache. "The Eggman Empire will not be simply a dream, but finally a reality! Oooh, with the way things are looking, victory is right around the block. With my brilliant brain and flawless plan, everything will fall into place like the end of a puzzle, and everything will tick seamlessly like clockwork; everything will-"

"Excuse me sir, but-"

"WHAT now Cubot?! Can't you see I'm in the middle of my victory monolog? I don't get to make these very often-"

"I wonder why….", Cubot muttered

"WHAT was that?!"

"Nothing! Nothing sir! Hehe, nothing at all", the robot smiled cheerfully.

"Then what could possibly be more important than this priceless moment? This had better be good, or you will face the incinerator much earlier than planned", Eggman smiled maniacally.

"What, but I won't have even lived long enough to find out who my robotic mother truly is and"

Orbot placed his hand over Cubot's mouth.

"Uhmm...hehe… I think what he means to say is that your creme brulee is ready...sir."

"Oooooh! Goodie! Now that was worth the wait. Now hand it over!"

Cubot gave Orbot a funny look. "Sir, what I think Cubot meant to say was that the dessert was ready…..forty-five minutes ago! It's practically ashes now, or twenty-five grams of calcium carbonate if you wanna be precise..."

"Grrrrrr! Cuuuuuuuu-bottttttttt! When I get my hands on you-". Beep! Beep! Beep! A loud emergency signal interrupted his feisty lecture. Eggman gasped.

"Sir? I may have accidentally set the oven timer on the delay setting for twenty minutes while the brulee still cooked…"

"Can it trashbot. That's no oven timer." Eggman narrowed his eyes; it was even better. "Ahhh, finally phase one is already complete! Look at those fools stumbling about like a pack of malfunctioning hardware! Ah, I might feel sorry for them if my plan wasn't going so well!"

"But sir, you say this every time before Sonic ruins your plan!", interjected Orbot.

"Shut it! I will not allow my past failures to dim the bright future ahead of us! Besides, at the rate our enemies are strangling their own necks, half the dirty work is already done." Eggman grinned with satisfaction. "Now, I don't like to keep victory waiting. I believe it's time to initiate phase two."

* * *

Thank you to all who reviewed.

Next chapter will be longer.

What sort of character development would you like to see?


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